Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Responds to NPC Proposal to Include Low-speed Electric Vehicles

On October 26, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the “Response to the No. 6432 Recommendation of the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National People’s Congress” (hereinafter referred to as the “Reply”) on the inclusion of four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles proposed by the National People’s Congress’s representative in September. "Classification criteria for motorcycles" gives a clear reply.

The "Response" stated that the issues relating to low-speed electric vehicles will be dealt with in accordance with the State Council's "Upgrading a Batch, Standardizing a Batch, and Eliminating a Batch." At present, the “upgrading batch” has established channels, and the specific policies and measures for “standardizing one batch” and “eliminating one batch” are still under discussion.

For low-speed electric vehicle positioning, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology believes that low-speed electric vehicles are special types of motor vehicles and their positioning is micro, short-distance, low-speed, and the use of passengers in specific areas.

For the "standard batch" and "out of a batch", the opinion of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is: First, adhere to the standard lead, speed up the development of low-speed electric vehicle product technical standards, and lay the "standard" and "eliminate a batch" work basis. The second is to incorporate low-speed electric vehicles into the "Notice" management, strengthen the supervision of production consistency, and standardize the production and sales of products that meet the standards and meet the needs of the people.

The third is to improve the low-speed electric vehicles on the road management regulations, research and development of a unified low-speed electric license plate, registration, driving qualifications and related taxes and other regulations to regulate the use of low-speed electric vehicles. The fourth is to give full play to the main role of the local people's government in the management of low-speed electric vehicles. The provincial people's government formulates measures for the management of low-speed electric vehicles in the region according to the actual conditions in the region, and sets the right and time limit for the area. For non-compliant vehicles, research has taken corresponding measures to set up a transitional period, phase out them in phases, and solve the inventory problem.

For non-compliant low-speed electric vehicles in use, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recommends that a certain transition period be provided for phase-out through replacement, repurchase, and encouragement of scrapping.

The following is the text of the "Response to the No. 6432 Recommendation of the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National People's Congress":

Dong Shumin and 32 other representatives:

Your suggestions on the inclusion of four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles in the motorcycle category management standards have been received. After research, the reply is as follows:

Four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles have emerged in recent years. Due to low prices and no use of thresholds, the scale of production and sales has continued to expand, and explosive growth has occurred in some regions. Most low-speed electric vehicles are produced in the name of tourist vehicles, venue vehicles, and old-age walking vehicles. They are actually non-compliant road vehicle products. Production companies have not handled legitimate vehicle production procedures. On the one hand, the low-speed electric vehicle has solved the motorized travel needs of some people. On the other hand, its disorderly development has also brought a series of negative problems, especially because it has not been controlled by motor vehicles, and it is illegal for unlicensed, unlicensed, retrograde, and red light violations. Driving behavior is widespread, disrupting normal traffic order and affecting road safety.

In August 2015, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related departments reported to the State Council on the “Relevant Questions Concerning the Management of Low-speed Electric Vehicles” and proposed the “three batches of management ideas for upgrading one batch, regulating one batch and eliminating one batch”. In accordance with the requirements of the leadership of the State Council’s leading comrades, the Ministry of Communications is strengthening the communication and coordination with relevant departments and strive to reach consensus at an early date.

"Upgrade a batch" has now established a channel. Specific policies and measures for "regulating a batch" and "eliminating a batch" are still under discussion. For the "standard batch" and "out of a batch", our department's opinion is: First, adhere to the standard lead, speed up the development of low-speed electric vehicle product technical standards, and lay the "standard" and "eliminate a batch" work basis. The second is to incorporate low-speed electric vehicles into the "Notice" management, strengthen the supervision of production consistency, and standardize the production and sales of products that meet the standards and meet the needs of the people. The third is to improve the low-speed electric vehicles on the road management regulations, research and development of a unified low-speed electric license plate, registration, driving qualifications and related taxes and other regulations to regulate the use of low-speed electric vehicles. The fourth is to give full play to the main role of the local people's government in the management of low-speed electric vehicles. The provincial people's government formulates measures for the management of low-speed electric vehicles in the region according to the actual conditions in the region, and sets the right and time limit for the area. For non-compliant vehicles, research has taken corresponding measures to set up a transitional period, phase out them in phases, and solve the inventory problem.

For your suggestions on the inclusion of four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles in the category of motorcycles, the opinions of the four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles on the positioning and use of management methods are widely divided among different sectors of society and related departments. From the perspective of foreign countries, countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan have also emerged such products as low-speed electric vehicles, and their management modes for four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles are also not the same. Japan manages small cars, the United States manages low-speed vehicles, and the EU manages L6/L7 vehicles.

The Ministry believes that low-speed electric vehicles are special types of motor vehicles. Technical indicators such as the dimensions, weight, driving power, and number of nuclear loads should be defined according to their micro, short-range, low-speed, and passenger-positioning in certain areas. Safety performance and vehicle management methods. With regard to vehicle batteries, we advocate the use of new energy power batteries with high technical performance and low pollution. For non-compliant low-speed electric vehicles in use, we also propose to provide a certain transition period and phase out them through replacement, repurchase, and encouragement of scrapping.

At present, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related departments are organizing the development of national standards for four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles. The types of vehicles and related technical requirements for low-speed electric vehicles will be clearly defined in the standards. In the standard setting process, we will fully consider all aspects of the situation, widely solicit the opinions of the relevant departments and all sectors of society, and report and publish according to legal procedures.

In the next step, our ministry will step up its coordination with related departments and, in accordance with the basic principle of "three ones," accelerate the promotion of standardized policies, standards and standards for the development of low-speed electric vehicles.

Thank you for your concern and support for the work of our ministry and hope to continue to provide valuable opinions and suggestions for our work.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

July 26, 2017